Types of SSL – Multi-Domain & Wildcard Certificates

Multi-Domain and Wildcard SSL Certificates play an integral role in protecting website(s)

When you’re trying to secure multiple domains or multiple Sub-Domains, you’re in luck with SSL/TLS, as there’s a ready-made solution for both. Let’s look at the best way to support both scenarios:

Multi-Domain SSL

Multi-Domain SSL Certificates, or SAN Certificates, are the simplest way to secure multiple domains with just a single certificate. When you purchase one of these certificates, all you have to do is fill out a SAN, or Subject Alternative Name, for every additional domain you wish to cover.

This allows the certificate to be generated for all of your domains at once, and as an additional benefit, makes managing your certificates a whole lot easier. The alternative to this would be buying one single-domain certificate for every domain you need to cover. This can get costly and is a huge pain to keep track of. Also, you can add additional domains throughout the lifecycle of this certificate, simply be reissuing it.

A lot of Multi-Domain certificates will come with an additional 2-4 domains bundled in, but any SANs needed beyond that will incur an additional cost. It’s a small price to pay for the convenience that comes with a Multi-Domain SSL Certificate, especially considering additional domains cost less than purchasing brand new individual certificates.

For example, with a Multi-Domain certificate, you can cover:

• domain.com
• domain.gov
• domain.biz
• domain.xyz

Wildcard SSL

On the other hand, if you’re looking to secure Sub-Domains, you can go with a Wildcard certificate. When you’re generating a Wildcard certificate, you’ll just put an asterisk in front of your domain name. So, it would be *.yourdomain.com on the CSR and this will allow you to secure an unlimited number of Sub-Domains.

This is one of the most popular SSL/TLS options in the industry, as it makes securing and managing all of your subdomains a breeze. Rather than purchasing individual certificates for each Sub-Domain, you’re doing it all with one single certificate. Unlike Multi-Domain certs, there’s no paying for additional SANs. You just use the asterisk in the generation process and you’re good to go.

For example, with a Wildcard certificate, you can cover:

• Domain.com
• Example.domain.com
• Mail.domain.com
• Login.domain.com

Multi-Domain Wildcard SSL

There’s a third option if you have both Multiple Domains AND Sub-Domains that needs to be secured in a simple and efficient manner. Multi-Domain Wildcard certificates, as their name suggests, can secure multiple domains, along with their subdomains. Think of it more as a bundle of Wildcard certificates.

Regardless of what your security needs are, there’s sure to be an SSL option that’s right for you. At Tangelo Digital Media, we stock a full range of SSL solutions, so we’re certain to have what you need.